This is a photo of my husband Salvator Israel (first from right) with his sisters, Sarika (next to him), Hanika (first from left sitting), Rashel (the one standing) and his mother Leontin Israel, nee Demayo (second from left sitting). The photo was taken in Plovdiv, on 22nd January 1918. At the time the photo was taken, my husband was ten years old.
My husband was born on 2nd April 1908 in Plovdiv. He was born in the family of the respected merchant Marko Israel and the Hungarian Sephardi Jew Leontin Demayo, who had lived in Budapest and Vienna before the marriage. They met in Vienna on one of Marko's business trips, they married and Leontin came to Bulgaria. I didn't meet my mother-in-law, because she died young, but I know that my husband was very attached to her. She was a very nice, respected and beautiful woman. Their family had a wonderful house in the center of Plovdiv, which has been demolished.
My husband had five sisters: Rashel, Sarika, Rene, Elizabeth and Hanika. Elizabeth and Rene are not in this photo. Hanika died very young, when she was nine years old. This was a great shock for the whole family. The eldest sister was Rashel, then was Sarika, Rene, Salvator, Hanika and Elisabeth was the youngest sister. Sarika, Rene, Rashel and Elisabeth went to live in Israel after the war and later Elizabeth moved to the USA with her husband, who was a German Jew. The children of Elisabeth, Kamea and Mickey, also live there. Rashel's husband is Solomon Perets. They have two daughters, Lunchy and Hanika. They moved to live in Israel in 1948.